Perforated pellet of explosive powder and process of making same



molds which form small 2'0.

- trains in shrapnel .UNITED STATES PATENTIOFEICE.

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PERFORATED PELLE'I ron'r AND ERNEST nu Pom, orwrtmmsron,

DELAWARE:

OI? EXPLOSIVE POWDER AND PROCESS OF MAKING- SAME.

No Drawing.

purposes,

those skilled in known to munication trains. plished by compressing black powder in perforated cylinders and building up a tram of these cylin-- ders to the desired length.

Our method ofmaking thesecommunication trains consists in thoroughly mixing black powder, of dust, with a collodion comprising nitrocellulose dissolved in alcohol and ether, or nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose dissolved in alcohol, ether and acetone. The mixing operation'may be vconducted in .a mixing machine of the type ordinarily used inthe manufacture of smokeless powder. After mixing, the powder is formed into tubes of the desired diametenhaving perforations of the desired size. This may be conveniently done by -pressing the powder out ina macaroni press. The tubes may be out, before drying, to form pellets similar to those now in use, or they may be cut to correspond to the length ofthe train or to any shorter length desired. When dried, the effect of the collodion is to cement the powder together so that a mass is produced sufliciently hard for the purpose.

Where brittleness is unobjectionable, we

use a collodion consistin of nitrocellulose and a cohol; but where taining also nitroglycerin, in the proportion, preferably, of about two parts of nitrog yeerin to one part of nitrocellulose, and dissolve them in ether and alcohol to which has been added a small proportionof a'cetone. Communication-trains molded from Specification of Letters Patent.

the art, that there be a continuous opening through these.com-. This is generally accom-.

which should be in the formthe usual compositlon of niter,

. vary much Patented Sept. '7, 1920,.

Application filed June 12, 1918. Serial No. 239,530.

' material made with, the nitroglycerin-nitrocellulose collodion are less brittle than those made w1th the nitrocellulose collodion.

Two illustrative compositions are herew1th submitted? 1. Black powder 750 grams; Nitrocellulose 250 grams. Ether r 500 cc. Alcohol 250 cc.

II. Black powder 750 grams. Nitrocellulose 88?; grams. Nitroglycerin, 166% grams. Ether L 300" cc, Alcohol 150 cc. Acetone 16 cc.

I It will be understood that in the dryingthe solvents almost entirely esoperation,

that any suitable known means cape, and maybe employed to recover reuse.

Heretofore great perienced in the manufacture of black powder pellets, in getting them so hard that they will resist the shock of acceleration when a shell is fired from a gun. This result heretofore has been sought by molding.

under exceedinglyheavy pressure. By

modifying the black powder composition by the .addition of collodion, not only is suiil-- cient fluidity imparted to the composition. to permit the manufacture of the pellets by the advantageous method described, but the resultant pellets have such physical qualities that they may be depended'upon to resist the shock of acceleration on firing. 1

In claiming black powder, we refer to charcoal, the proportions of which do'not from 7 5, 10 and 15 per cent. re-

spectively.

While we believe that cementing black powder dust into lodion to be new, our invention also involves the discovery t at the'manufacture'of perforated pellets,-for use in powder communication trains, of the specified composition is .a non-obvious use of the compositlon that produces certain beneficial results and peculiar advantagesthat would not characthe solvents for difficulty has been ex-' sulfur and I masses by; means of'acolterize the use of the composition in the manufacture of any other kind of explosive product.

It will be understood that in' claiming pellets we do not mean to exclude a mass long enough to form a complete powder train.

\Vhile the pellets must be dried, a special drying operation is not indispensable, inasmuch as drying will be incidental to ordinary exposure to the atmosphere.

Having now fully described our invention what we claim and desire to protect by 7 Letters Patent is:

1. As a new explosive product for use in powder communication trains, a perforated pellet comprising a mixture of black powder and a collodion.

2. As a new explosive product for use in powder communication trains, a perforated pellet comprising a mixture of black powder and a collodion, the percentage of black powder exceeding that of the collodion.

3. AS a new explosive product for use in powder communication trains, a perforated pellet comprising a mixture of black powder, nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin.

4. As a new explosive pro uct for use in powder communication trains, a perforated pellet comprising a mixture of black powder and a collodion in the proportion of ap-' proximately three parts of black powder and one part of the collodion. V

5. As a new explosive product for use in powder communication trains, a' perforated pellet comprising a mixture of black powder and a collodion in the proportionof approximately three parts of black powder and one part of the collodion, the collodion containing nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin.

6. As a new explosive product for use in powder communication trains, a perforated pellet comprising a mixture of black powder anda collodion, the collodion containing nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose, the percentage of nitroglycerin exceeding that of the mtrocellulose and the percentage of black powder exceeding that of the ingredients of the collodion combined.

7. As a new explosive product for use in powder communication trains, a perforated pellet comprising a mixture of about nine parts of black powder, about two parts of nitroglycerin and about one part of nitrw cellulose.

8. As a new explosive product, black powder dust cemented together into masses by means of a collodion.

9. As a new explosive product, black powder dust cemented together into masses by means of a collodion containing nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin.

10. A mixture of black powder and collodion perforated and shaped to form a.

11. As a newexplosive product, black powder dust in a predominating proportion cemented together into masses by means of a substantially smaller proportion of a collodion.

12. The process 'of making an explosive product which comprises mixing a preponderating proportion of black powder dust with a relativesmall proportion of'a' col-' lodion dissolved in a suitable solvent, and cementing the ingredients while plastic into its final shape.

13. The process of making perforated pellets of explosive powder for use in-communication trains, which comprises mixing black powder with nitrocellulose dissolved in a. volatile solvent, pressing the mixture into tubular form, cutting the tubes to length, and drying.

14. The process of making perforated pellets of explosive powder for use in communication'trains, which comprises mixing black powder with nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin dissolved in ether, alcohol and acetone, pressing the mixture into tubular form, cutting the tubes to length, and dry mg.

15. The process of making perforated pellets of explosive powder for use in communication trains of suflicient hardness to -resist the shock of acceleration on firing,

which comprises imparting temporary fluidity to the black powder by mixing it with nitrocellulose dissolved in a volatile solvent, exuding the same under suitable pressure to form an elongated mass, and cutting the same to the desired length.

16. The process of making perforated pellets of explosive powder for use in communication trains, which comprises mixing black powder with nitrocellulose dissolved in ether and alcohol in suitable proportion to form a plastic mass and pressing the powder into an elongated perforated form.

17. The process of makin perforated pellets of explosive powder for use in communication trains, which comprises mixing black powder with nitrocellulose and nitro- FRANCIS 1 DU PONT. ERNEST DU PONT. 

